1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an instant messaging system, and in particular, to a user group management method and system for group communications in an interworking system of an Instant Messaging and Presence Services (IMPS) system and a Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE) IM system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Presently, within Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), there are two different Instant Messaging technologies; the Instant Messaging and Presence Services (IMPS) based IM technology and SIMPLE protocol based IM technology. These IM technologies use groups defined by a user of an instant message to enable group communication. In an IMPS system, the user defined groups are stored in an IMPS server. The IMPS system uses IMPS specific protocols such as Client Server Protocol (CSP) and Server to Server Protocol (SSP) for performing various operations on these groups like getting the group information and setting the group information. In a SIMPLE IM system, user-defined group related information is stored in Extensible Markup Language (XML) formats in an Instant Messaging XML Document Management Server (IM XDMS) and uses XML Configuration Access Protocol (XCAP) to access or modify the group information.
In OMA, if the architecture for interworking between theses two IM systems should be generated, for example, if an IMPS user sends an instant message to a SIMPLE IM user or SIMPLE IM users send an instant message to an IMPS user, new network elements and message flows need to be identified because the IM systems use different protocols. OMA has already come out with the architecture for delivering IMPS instant messages to an SIMPLE IM system and vice-versa.
When a SIMPLE IM user sends an instant message to an IMPS user, a process of sending the instant message is as follows. A SIMPLE IM user composes a message using a SIMPLE IM Client and sends the message to a SIMPLE IM server. A message header contains the ID of the IMPS User. From the recipient ID, the SIMPLE Server understands that the message is targeted for the IMPS user. The SIMPLE IM server sends the message to an Interworking Function (IWF). The IWF converts the instant message sent by the SIMPLE system based on the IMPS protocols and sends to the IMPS Server. Finally the IMPS Server delivers the instant message to the IMPS recipient. In the case of notifications from the SIMPLE IM user to the IMPS server, the IWF receives the IMPS specific notifications from the IMPS server and converts them as per the SIMPLE protocol and notifies the SIMPLE IM Client through the SIMPLE IM server.
When the IMPS user sends an instant message to the SIMPLE IM user, a process of sending the instant message is as follows. The IMPS user composes the message using the IMPS client and sends the message to the IMPS server. The message header contains the ID of the SIMPLE IM user. From the recipient ID, the IMPS server understands that the message is targeted for the SIMPLE IM user. The IMPS server sends the message to the IWF. The IWF converts the instant message sent by the IMPS system, based on the SIMPLE protocol and sends to the SIMPLE server. Finally the SIMPLE server delivers the message to the SIMPLE IM recipient. In the case of notifications from the SIMPLE IM server to the IMPS user, the IWF receives the SIMPLE specific notifications from the SIMPLE server and converts them as per the IMPS protocols and notifies the IMPS client through the IMPS server.